Catching your eye
by cheerful-angel57
Summary: [Chapter 7 up]Mainly MaiXJoey and SetoXSerenity as well. Joey Wheeler is starting his freshman year at Domino High school, and being cheeky got him into a lot of trouble. Then he meets somebody whom he never expected to meet again…
1. Chapter 1

**CATCHING YOUR EYE**

* * *

Disclaimers: Number one, I don't own YGO. Number two, if I did, I don't need to sit here writing a fanfic.

A/N: Okay, this is my first MaiXJoey fic and I really hope I make it good. I'm not really good at this stuff ya see, so I'll just try my best… All I need is for you to tell me if you like it. Rating is PG but it might change, so just watch out for sudden updates. And the genre is obviously romance and general. And I am REALLY sorry if the title sucks. I couldn't think of a better one, so please review and tell me if I should change it.

Summary: Mainly MaiXJoey and SetoXSerenity as well. Joey Wheeler is starting his freshman year at Domino High school, and being cheeky got him into a lot of trouble. Then he meets somebody whom he never expected to meet again…

* * *

Chapter 1

Joey Wheeler was at the peak of bursting. He was in a trashcan, and if someone probably asked him what he was doing there, he would have said, "Long story, pal." The lid of the trashcan was jammed and the chances of getting out were nearly nil.

But this chapter is not here to tell you about Joey in a dumpster-it's here to tell you why Joey was stuck in there, and to tell you his story of course! Now let's proceed.

**FLASHBACK, 2 HOURS BEFORE WE FIND JOEY IN THE DUMPSTER**

"JOEY!!! GET UP!" shouted a female's harassed voice from the outside of his wooden door.

"What?!" Joey shouted back. He had just gotten up to find his sister, Serenity, shouting for him to get up.

"YOU'RE LATE!!! COME ON BEFORE WE MISS THE BUS!!!" She shouted back.

Joey grabbed his alarm clock, which was in the shape of a Time wizard. It was 30 minutes to 8:00!

"You darn alarm clock! Why didn't you wake me up!!!!" Joey yelled at it.

"Joey, taking your anger out on a clock isn't the way to solve this! You should be dressed by now!!!" Serenity yelled through the door.

"Alright, alright! I'm opening the door so that you don't have to waste your voice yelling." Joey told his sister. He rushed to the door to open it and in came a beautiful girl with hair as brown as chestnuts with dark chocolate eyes. She was pretty but now she was VERY angry with Joey.

"JOEY! You're not even dressed yet! Don't tell me I have to do it for you!" Serenity said, pouting. She was already dressed. _'Figures,' _Joey thought. It was Serenity and Joey's first day in Domino High school, and who knows what would be different. She was so excited that she had slept earlier last night while, as for Joey, he played the role of a couch potato and watched TV till dawn. It was amazing that he still could get up that early in the morning.

"JOEY! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!" Serenity exclaimed, throwing a pillow at him.

"Yeah, yeah! Stay in your cockpit, I'll be right down." He said and entered the bathroom. Serenity pouted again and went down.

* * *

**20 minutes later…**

"Okay, I'm done! Let's wait for the bus," Joey said, grabbing his backpack and flinging it over his shoulder.

Serenity was waiting for him on the porch of their small house, sitting on one of the rusty benches. "Finally. The bus is coming, and we'd better not miss it." She said, pointing at the big yellow vehicle. When Joey saw it, he groaned. _'Great, another going back to school sign. I wish I could stay at home…'_ he thought.

Joey, you don't know how right you will be because it was much better for you to stay at home today rather than facing the freshman troubles of high school.

'_So I'll just get through it. Come on, Joey, act cool. You're a freshman now.' _Joey thought to himself as he followed Serenity. She chose two seats at the back so they won't be noticed. After all, they were new students, and besides, the older students were occupying the front. They were all chattering along noisily and they didn't mind them at all.

'_I wonder if I'll know anyone here.'_ He thought. He passed a row of seats that were empty except for a tall, brown haired guy sitting in the seat near the window. He had the same cold blue eyes as ever, and he was busy clacking away at his laptop. With all those descriptions, you know that it's…

"KAIBA!!!!" Joey yelled, and he almost knocked the laptop out of Kaiba's hands. The tall CEO stood up. He gave Joey his "death" glare.

"Wheeler. How very nice to see you." He said sarcastically. He turned to Serenity, who was staring at him in shock. "And I see you brought your girlfriend too. Why would she date a wimp like you?" he sneered.

"Serenity is NOT my girlfriend! She's my sister!" Joey yelled. The cool crowd at the front stopped talking and stared at the scene. Soon the whole bus turned their heads to listen to the fight.

"That's kind of hard to believe. She doesn't look anything like a mutt." He said, walking up to Serenity and tilting up her chin with one finger.

She turned to slap him but he caught her hand in a smooth reflex. "Don't you dare insult my brother." She said, glaring at Kaiba.

He laughed. "You Wheelers are downright pathetic." Kaiba said, letting go of Serenity's wrist and bending down to pick up his laptop.

"And you, Kaiba, you are a miserable loser who doesn't care about anyone but himself!" Joey yelled, hurling his fist, aiming to collide it with Kaiba's face. He was ready to damage that handsome face right now.

But it was unable to reach its goal because Kaiba caught Joey's fist with his free hand. The other was picking up the fallen laptop.

"You're going to pay for that, Wheeler. One time I'm gonna mangle you up for good." He said, picking up a silver briefcase and his laptop. The bus had arrived at the school just in time and Kaiba exited first.

Joey was boiling with anger. He was ready to burst. "That psycho! He thinks he's so good. Well, he's asking for trouble." Joey said, clenching his fists.

"Come on, Joey. Let's go." Serenity said, pulling his arm.

"You're not mad after what Kaiba did to you?" Joey said to his sister. She had a red mark on her wrist where Kaiba had touched her.

"Not really, but if that Kaiba tries to get at me again, he'll pay. But it'll help if you ignore him, Joey." Serenity told him.

They went up to the woman handing out class charts and school maps.

"Name please." Said the woman, her voice droning in monotone.

"Wheeler." Said Joey.

"Ah, yes. Here you are. Next." She said and handed them two pieces of paper.

"I hope she won't be our teacher." Serenity whispered to Joey.

Joey laughed silently. "Yeah. By the way, are we in the same class?" he asked, flipping his paper. "Mine says Class F. What about you?" he asked.

"Hmmm… I'm in Class A." she said.

"Oh man, the bell is in 10 minutes. Take care of yourself, Serenity! See ya at lunch." Joey said to his kid sister and went to his locker.

Serenity departed to her own locker a little moment later.

* * *

'_Now I wonder who is in my class?'_ he thought. He was headed for the chemistry lab.

'I wonder where Yugi and the others are? I haven't seen them all morning.' He thought.

"Yo dude, you'd be a freshie, right?" said a voice from behind him, grabbing Joey from behind.

"What's your problem??? It's no business of yours if I were a freshman!!!" Joey yelled.

He glanced around. There was no one around to witness it.

"No dudes around to protect you, kid," said the big muscular guy.

"Look, pal! You'd hate to connect your big dopey face with my fist! All I can say to you!" Joey yelled.

"Oh, look, it's the little baby crying for his mommy! He has a punk ass attitude, eh? Well, I can change that! Watch your words! Yo, Rick! Check this guy out! A new freshie for us to play with!!!" he yelled. His partner in crime came across the hall to his friend. "Yo, Bruno. What's up, man?"

"Check this guy out. Thinks he's too cool for school. Well, we'll fix that in a jiffy, won't we?" said Bruno.

"Get your filthy paws off me!" Joey shouted.

"Rick, let's do the honors." Said Bruno.

Joey had no idea about what they were talking about, but he was sure that it wouldn't be nice. He had to punch that guy first.

"Take this!" Joey shouted, punching Bruno's right cheek.

"Crap it! That hurt, buddy! And you know what you're going to get after this!" Bruno threatened.

"You won't like him when he's angry." Rick said, which was no consolation at all.

"It's dumpster time." Bruno said cruelly, and before Joey realized it, he was dropped in a dumpster and the lid was thrown over him.

* * *

Serenity, meanwhile, was having her chem. class and was ignorant to her brother's plight.

But she had her own problems to deal with now. Seto Kaiba, the guy that Joey mysteriously had a grudge on, was in her class. And she couldn't concentrate on what her chem. teacher was saying about bases and acids.

It was cruel, the teacher droning on in monotone and she was simply staring at the back of her brother's enemy, as if drilling a hole in his backbone with some eye laser.

She had known for a fact that Kaiba was a complete genius. Who wouldn't know? Practically every class he won an award for academic excellence. So he was given permission to bring a laptop to class so he could type up notes on it. Another reason why the let him use the laptop was because the administration was plain scared of him, and what he would do to them if they got in his way. So he was kind of a spoiled brat too.

She tapped her pen on the desktop, looking at the clock on the wall. 'If only the time would go by faster…' she thought.

"Ms. Wheeler, are you paying attention to anything I am saying?"

The sudden voice change caught Serenity's attention. "Um, yes, sensei?" she said innocently, hoping she could get away with the whole thing unscathed.

"I was asking if you were paying attention to anything I was saying, Ms. Wheeler." Sensei said placidly.

"Um…" she murmured quietly.

"What was the last thing I mentioned?"

"Um… uh…" Serenity said, not able to meet his eye.

Although she saw the look on Kaiba's face. He was smirking.

She wanted to shoot his face right then and there.

"Sit down, Ms. Wheeler. I will let you off the hook for now because it is the first day of school, but next time please listen attentively. The last thing I mentioned was that amino acid and phosphoric acid are two types of acids." He said, and Serenity sat down, thankful that he did not humiliate her any more than that.

But she couldn't wipe the evil smirk off Kaiba's face. So far, that was the only thing she was mad about.

'_I wonder how Joey is doing?' _she thought aimlessly.

* * *

As for Joey, he was having a hell of a time. He even missed his first class!

Plus, he was stuck in there with all those garbage. He was afraid to come out at the fear that someone would spot him and he'll be the laughingstock.

But some luck was still with him, because the lid opened right after the bullies had gone.

Joey thought that he had been gifted with sunlight because the person who opened the lid had long, curly golden locks.

"Is that the sun?" he said and the person jumped.

"Is there someone in there?" the person questioned, and it was a female voice.

"Yeah." He said quickly.

"Okay, I'll get you out then." Said the girl.

She helped him out of the dumpster and when he got out, he got the surprise of his life.

It was Mai! Mai Valentine, the girl who had helped him at the Duelist Kingdom!

She had saved him another time! "Mai! Is that you?" Joey asked in utter surprise.

"Yes, it's me, Joseph Wheeler. And what may I ask were you doing in a dumpster?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

Joey rolled his eyes. She had not changed much. She was wearing a tight tube top showing her curves, and a purple jacket with a matching miniskirt and boots. Her nails were perfectly manicured and she was in tip-top shape, as usual. She looked gorgeous.

"Uh… yeah… some older guys stuck me in the dumpster a minute ago 'cause I told them about my freshman state." Joey said flatly, brushing some dirt off his sleeves.

"Yeah, that's not the first time I heard that story." She said.

"I guess so. Um, so why aren't you in class?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I got a hall pass, silly. I'm on a little break." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I see. Well, I can't go back to my first period now, so I might as well go to the cafeteria and get my recess early." He said.

"Oh. Then I might as well come with you. First period is nearly done anyway and they won't miss me. Besides, it's a long time since we last talked, Joey, so we can go have a little chat." She said, her voice sounding very womanlike.

Joey flashed a smile at her. 'Boy, she hasn't changed much, but I am thinking that she looks really hot. Wait; am I starting to like her in that sense? Don't start down that path, Joey Wheeler!' Joey thought, chiding himself.

After his little thought train, he followed Mai to the cafeteria, holding his soaked with garbage backpack.

* * *

A/N: Yay! I am done with the first chapter, finally! I am starting to like this idea! I don't really know what to do next, so don't be expecting chapter 2 very soon. Anyway, stay tuned! 


	2. Chapter 2

$$$$  
  
Chapter 2-Mai's secret  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh. No more say there.  
  
Author's note: Hey you guys... hope you like this chappie even if it's too short and it's stupid. R&R please!  
  
To:  
  
**Subaru the Jaguar: **Hey, thanks for the review! Glad you still have the patience to R&R my fics... thanks so much for that. Luv ya! Hahaha. Anyway, you got a cool idea... but I already finished this chapter before you reviewed... aw, I'm sorry, but anyway... maybe I can put your idea in the next chapter, yeah?  
  
**Cute peridot 816:** Hey!!! When are you gonna sign up???? Thanks for reviewing me!!! Luv ya!!!  
  
**To all the others who reviewed:** Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing me! Don't think that just because I didn't reply directly to your review doesn't mean I don't like you okay? Please R & R this chappie! Luv you all!  
  
SETOXSERENITY RULES!!!! Luv all you peeps! Thanks for reviewing! Don't forget to review this chap, okie?  
  
$$$$  
  
Mai couldn't believe that she was talking to Joey Wheeler again. She hadn't seen him since Duelist Kingdom.  
  
They were in the cafeteria using one of the water taps and a bar of laundry soap. She was helping Joey clean out his dirty backpack as they settled for a talk.  
  
"So... how've you been doing all these years?" Joey asked her. He worked hard on scrubbing out an ice cream stain.  
  
"Well... nothing much, I just started attending Domino High last year. I've been living in an apartment and managing two jobs. What about you?" She said lightly. She found it quite easy to talk to Joey.  
  
"Hmmm... my sister Serenity and I are starting high school this year, like you already know. I'm taking on a job right now. Boy, it's a long time since we last saw each other." Joey said.  
  
"Yeah." She agreed. "Sooo... I haven't seen your kid sister yet. Is she okay?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, she is. I think you'll like her." Joey smirked. Suddenly the water ran out. "Damn!" they both shouted out. Then Mai laughed. Joey joined in. Soon they were laughing like Joey's backpack was not there. The bell rang for the recess and Mai turned serious again. "Hey, listen Joey, see ya around. I got some of my own matters to attend to first," she said.  
  
"Sure, I'll meet you at lunch, okay with you?" Joey asked. "I'll introduce you to Serenity." He added.  
  
Mai smiled. "That's perfect. Okay, see you later." She said with one last smile and went out of the cafeteria. 'If Joey ever knew about this... he'd freak. He has no idea what I'm going through.' She thought.  
  
She headed out to the school's backyard and took out her cellphone, dialing her apartment's number.  
  
"Hello? Sis? Everything okay there?" Mai asked.  
  
"Mai! I thought you were supposed to be studying." Her older sister asked sternly.  
  
"It's recess. Hey, is mom alright?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, but she's pretty dismal. She doesn't stop whining for another drink." Her sister replied.  
  
Mai sighed. "Okay, I'll check up on you guys later." She replied and hung up.  
  
She sighed again. It was tough having to deal with a lot of problems. She rested on the cool bench nearby, watching Domino's soccer team playing from a distance.  
  
The truth was that her mother was a drug addict. It was bad enough that she had to go to school when she had to be there for her mother. She had just gone through rehabilitation after a bad dose of alcohol while she was driving. Mai had been worried about her ever since, and her sister had come home from another town in Japan to look after their mother. She sure didn't want Joey to know about this bit of information not because she was ashamed of it, but because she knew that he would probably not want to keep up their friendship when he knew about it.  
  
She twirled a blonde lock of her hair. It was not normal for her to be this stressful. It was just not her style, but when it came to people she cared about, she knew she would have to worry.  
  
'I wonder what Joey would say if he knew about this.' She thought sadly.  
  
$$$  
  
"Serenity? Hello? Earth to Serenity!"  
  
"What?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Did you hear anything I just said?" her brother asked her.  
  
"Um... yeah!" she said. The truth was, she had really not been listening. She had been thinking about Kaiba and his spoiled brat attitude that she had hardly paid any attention to what Joey was saying.  
  
"Yeah, um, about you falling in the dumpster thing?"  
  
"I was done with that a while ago! I was talking about my friend Mai Valentine." Joey said.  
  
"Oh, um... what about her?" she asked. 'This is déjà vu...' she thought, reminded of what happened in her chem. class.  
  
"She's one of my good friends. Remember what I told you about Duelist Kingdom? She helped me out by giving me a card I needed to go on against one of my opponents. It's only now that I've seen her again." Joey said. Serenity giggled. She noticed the light in her brother's eyes while he was talking about this Mai.  
  
"Did I say something wrong?" Joey asked.  
  
"No, I just thought that... well... never mind." Serenity answered.  
  
"Come on, tell me!"  
  
"Oh, alright, since you insist. Um, promise me you won't get mad. I think that you like Mai." Serenity blurted out.  
  
Joey almost choked on his soda. "LIKE HER? In that way? You're kidding right?" Joey could have laughed his head off.  
  
"No, it's true Joey, I saw a light in your eyes while you were talking about her. I haven't seen that in a long time ever since we saw each other again." She told him seriously.  
  
Joey snorted. "Right. I like Mai?? Give me a break." He said in a denying voice. 'Maybe she is right. Maybe I DO have something for Mai. I mean, I can't stop thinking about her!' he thought as he glanced at Serenity.  
  
She looked like she didn't believe what he just denied. But she dropped the subject.  
  
"Hey look, it's Yugi and the others!" she called and waved. Joey turned around and glimpsed his friends walking toward their table. Joey waved at them.  
  
"Hey, guys! Where have you been? We haven't seen you anywhere around." Yugi said as he sat down.  
  
"That's true with us. We haven't seen you all morning!" Joey replied. He exchanged high fives with his best friend, Tristan.  
  
"Well, I'm in Class C. I'm in there with Tea." Yugi said, biting off the tip of his French fry.  
  
"And I'm in Class E with Tristan." Duke said, grinning at Serenity. She smiled back.  
  
Joey shot him a glare saying 'Don't you even think about it.' But Duke didn't notice it.  
  
"I guess that explains why we haven't seen each other all morning," Serenity said. She propped open her history book and started on the introduction. Duke sat beside her, telling her all about World War I.  
  
She sighed. She knew that Duke and Tristan have had crushes on her ever since they met her. But she didn't like any of them. She kind of preferred Kaiba's looks to theirs... she could imagine his chestnut brown hair, those ice blue orbs, the highly kissable lips, and his cold, hard expression... she thought that Kaiba, instead of repelling the women who liked him with his essence of giving a person fear, he was attracting them.  
  
She giggled, thinking on this fact. 'Wait... am I actually thinking that I like Kaiba? Oh man, Joey will kill me...' she thought. But the thoughts of Kaiba occupied her mind the rest of the day.  
  
$$$$$  
  
Okay, that was REALLY short... I guess that's all for chappie 2! I got a good idea for chapter 3, thanks to Subaru the Jaguar! Thanks a lot! I'll be working on it! 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back again! Hope you like it... Sorry I held it up so long 'cause of a stupid writer's block... oh well, here it is...

Thanks to **Subaru the Jaguar/The Dark Angel Reborn** who gave me a really superb idea. Hope you like it too. By the way, instead of an orientation, I made it an initiation instead... hope you don't mind! Actually we had our initiation this year and boy, were we frightened to death! But it turned out to be a pretty fun day for us, and kinda memorable too!

REVIEWS:

**EVERYONE**: THANKS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! GLAD YOU ENJOY THE STORY SO FAR!!! And thanks for waiting, I had a REALLY bad case of writer's block... Luv ya all! Please keep reviewing! My day brightens up just because of your reviews... thanks a lot!!!

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh!

* * *

Joey Wheeler hopped off the bus, glad that Kaiba used his limo today and not the bus. Serenity giggled. "Joey! You're so hyper today!" she said happily.

"Yeah, I am! No Kaiba on the bus to ruin my day!" he exclaimed.

"Oh. Ok." She said in a tone that Joey couldn't define. He glanced at her. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked his sister.

"Um, I'm fine." She answered. Joey wasn't satisfied. He thought he heard something suspicious in her tone of voice. 'Sorry I can't tell you Joey, but you won't understand...' she thought dismally. She was disappointed that Kaiba was not on the bus today.

Joey decided to ignore it instead. He went in the school premises and stopped by his locker, waving goodbye to his sister.

"Hey, Joey!" Yugi said. His locker was only two away from Joey's and he was waiting loyally for his friend.

"Hey, Yugi! Where's Tristan and Tea?" Joey asked, doing the combination on his locker.

Yugi's eyes glinted. "Well, Tristan's not here yet and Tea is with Serenity." He answered. Joey slammed his locker shut.

"Ok, got all that I needed. Come on, let's take a little walk." Joey said, while Yugi followed him.

"By the way, Joey... why'd you come so early? I didn't expect you to be there a while ago. Usually you come about 5 minutes to the bell in grade school." Yugi commented.

Joey rolled his eyes. Sometimes Yugi just had to get a CLUE. He wanted to make a good impression in high school, now that he was more "mature and grown-up."

"So... Yugi, ever seen anyone **familiar** around?" he asked, changing the subject, emphasizing on the word familiar.

"Um... aside from you, Tristan, Duke, Serenity and Tea?"

"Yeah."

"Um, no one. Why?" Yugi asked.

"I-I saw Mai." Joey stuttered. He suddenly felt very nervous.

"Mai? Mai Valentine?"

"Erm-yeah!" Joey said.

"Oh, I see... then what Tristan told me was true, then... Mai's here!" Yugi said, flashing Joey a wink.

Joey blushed, much to his horror. "Hey, Yugi! Don't think of it in that sense... I don't like her that way!" he protested. Why did people keep saying that he liked Mai as more than a friend?!

"If you say so." Yugi said distractedly. He was looking at the sign near the lockers.

"Huh? What are you looking at, Yugi?" Joey asked, his blush creeping away and he glanced at where Yugi was looking at.

"I'm looking at the poster of Duel Monsters... It says there's a club. You interested?" Yugi asked eagerly.

"Wanna bet? I can't wait to beat other challengers!" Joey said, pumping his fists in the air.

"So... the mutt is joining the club? Better not get squashed by other players. I bet they're fairly better than you. So don't even think about it." Said a voice behind them. You know that creepy voice that makes your skin crawl...

"KAIBA! You're joining it too?" Yugi asked.

Kaiba snorted with evil laughter. "Of course. I'll easily be number one-and I'm going to beat you once and for all, Yugi." He said gruffly, and with one last smirk, he turned away, leaving an infuriated Joey and Yugi with a strange look on his face.

* * *

"THERE'S A **WHAT**!" yelled Joey.

"There's an initiation."

"WHAT???"

"You don't know what an initiation is?"

"OF COURSE I KNOW."

"Then why are you saying WHAT!!!?"

"What are you guys talking about?" someone butted in.

Tea sighed. "All of us have to go through some stupid initiation." She announced.

Tristan scratched his head. "What IS an initiation?"

Joey was about to blow his head off. "An initiation! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL THAT MEANS?"

"Calm down, Joey! I was just asking!" Tristan said.

"DON'T BE SO DENSE!"

"Stop fighting you guys!" Serenity yelled.

"Ah... hi Serenity!" Tristan yelped eagerly. Joey sighed. Tristan's one weakness was so far, his sister. He'd better find a way to get Tristan's hands off her.

"Initiation... for all the new first years in high school." Serenity said. She got everyone's attention. "It's supposed to be really embarrassing. They're going to make us do some... horrible stuff." She concluded.

"WHAT THE HELL!!!"

"FIRST YEARS, PLEASE GO TO THE ASSEMBLY AREA RIGHT NOW!" shouted the principal through the megaphone. Everyone covered their ears at the loud blaring.

The friends went together to the assembly area in silent expectation. "I hope it's not too hard." Serenity whispered to Tea. "I hope so too," Tea murmured.

"It's okay guys. The fourth years probably won't let you do something TOO embarrassing or not decent. I bet the principal won't allow it." Mai whispered to the gang.

"Mai! What are you doing here? It's only first years allowed here!" Joey hissed.

"Yes, but I just stopped by for a little moment. Good luck!"

She followed her friends and waved goodbye to Joey. At the corner of her eye, Serenity saw Joey's blood rise to his cheeks.

"You probably know why you were called here, right, first years?" the principal barked into the microphone. Some people gave sleepy nods.

Then the principal gave the microphone to a black-haired fourth year girl, who easily started her short speech. "Hey, first years," she said in a loud voice. "I'm the representative for my batch and we're going to be holding an initiation, as part of your being part of this high school's society." She announced.

Many students groaned. Others just reacted to this statement by leaning over to his or her seatmate and chattering away loudly, making lots of noise. "SILENCE!!!" The principal grabbed the microphone and shouted.

"Anyways," the fourth year said with a sly smile, "let's begin!"

* * *

"Not embarrassing huh???" Joey Wheeler complained, one hour later.

He put his hand on the plastic nose and pulled. "Look at this thing! I'm going to be the laughing stock in the whole school!!! They're going to name me "Joey the Red-Nosed Clown!!!" You know how **embarrassing** that is??"

"Not as embarrassing as what they made **ME** do," Tristan contradicted, blushing a bright red because girls passing by were giggling at him uncontrollably. He was wearing a big brown barrel around his body, his long, lanky legs sticking out from the barrel.

"Look at that Duke," Joey complained. Duke Devlin was standing around girls, flirting with them. A bomber jacket was draped over his shoulders, and the distinct biker look was about him. He was wearing superior cool sunglasses, trying to impress the girls surrounding him.

"You'd think he'd try to change, but noooo, he had to get the girls," Joey grumbled. He was so through with high school. "Man, if this is how tough high school is, forget it, I'm dropping out," he thought aloud.

"Oh, come on Joey, high school isn't so bad."

Joey spun around to see who was talking to him. A bright pink blush appeared on his cheeks. "Mai!"

"Really, Joey, it isn't. That was just a bit of fun, you know. I had to dress up as a Viking while I was in the first year." Mai said, examining a perfectly manicured fingernail.

"Okay. Fine, I believe you. But what's up with this? I mean, hello! I'm A CLOWN!!!" Joey said, pinching his fake red plastic nose between his index finger and thumb.

"That's okay, Joey. You don't need to complain about it. It's over, okay?" Mai insisted. She had the initiative to say, "But you know, you still look really adorable in the clown suit." She whispered and turned away. Joey couldn't believe what he heard. Mai actually thought that??? Geez, why was his heart doing ridiculous cartwheels and flip-flops? And he knew that he was blushing as red as a tomato!

'Come on, Joey! NOT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!!! ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF MAI!!! STOP BLUSHING, DAMN IT!' Joey wanted to kick himself for looking like a fool.

"Hey, Joey, are you alright? You look as bright red as a tomato." Serenity commented, studying her brother's face carefully.

"Y-yeah! Whoops looks like I better get going if I want to go to my part time job at the pizza parlor! Catch up with you guys later!" Joey said quickly, excusing himself. "Bye!" his friends called after him.

"Don't forget to come home early, Joey!" Serenity reminded her brother reproachfully.

He waved to his friends until he was able to finally go the men's room, finding an empty cubicle and slamming the door behind him. He heard the men's room's door open once more and a mean cackle filled the room. 'Damn it! Tell me it's not them...' Joey pleaded silently. He was hoping that it was not the bullies who he had met. (A/N: That was in the 1st chapter.) But luck was not with Joey this time...

* * *

"WHEELER! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU??? GET TO WORK! YOU HAVE 15 PIZZAS TO DELIVER!!! AND YOU'RE LATE!!! NEXT TIME YOU'RE LATE, YOU'RE FIRED!!!"

"Okay, okay," Joey said in a small voice. He was so embarrassed. All the people in the parlor were staring at him like he was some sort of alien, and his boss just humiliated him. And just because he couldn't get out of the men's CR because he wanted to avoid some bullies. Great. His life was so OVER.

He pushed through the 'Staff Only' back door and ignored the blank stares of the other employees. "Here ya go, Joey. Sorry it's a bunch, but you know the boss." Another employee named Stan told him sympathetically, handing him 15 pizza boxes.

"That's okay Stan. It's my fault, I was late." Joey said quickly, grabbing the pizzas in two hands, getting ready to head out of the door.

"Hey, wait, Joey, there was a really beautiful blond woman who was asking for you a while ago. She said that she just stopped by to know if you're okay. Is she your girlfriend?" asked another employee eagerly.

"Blond woman? Did she leave any name?" Joey asked, finding that his heart was beating wildly. He had never felt his heartbeat pace along that fast before.

"No, but she just wanted to say hi and know if you're okay. So is she your girlfriend?" the young girl asked, pushing her chestnut brown hair into a hairnet.

"Oh, I see. No, she's not my girlfriend... just a friend from school." Joey said, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible. He was already beginning to turn red. And the last thing he wanted to happen now was hearing the other employees' laughter.

He rushed out the back door before anyone could ask him any more questions. He knew perfectly well that the girl who stopped by was Mai-it was really thoughtful of her, but he stiffened whenever he thought about her. He had never felt a spark like this before. Electricity and static was swarming to every inch of his body, and he knew that what he was feeling for Mai was not ordinary. Definitely not ordinary.

* * *

"Now where could Joey be? I told him not to be late for dinner." Serenity said aloud, pacing across the living room floor and looking at her watch impatiently.

It was not like Joey to be out this late. If he ever was late to dinner, it would be because of work. But that was rare for him. Serenity had tried calling the pizza parlor Joey worked for, but Joey was not there.

She was bursting from worry. Where could her brother have gone? She hoped fervently that he was all right. The phone rang and she scrambled up to answer it, hoping it was Joey.

"Hello?" she answered quickly.

"Hello. Is Joey there?" a female voice inquired.

Serenity heaved a sigh of relief. "Mai! It's me, Serenity! No, sorry, Joey's not here... I was wondering where he was... I called the pizza parlor a while ago and he wasn't there!"

"Oh, I see... I went there a while ago too myself. He wasn't there yet; I remember he left school early. I wonder what happened to him... But don't worry about your brother, Serenity, he's bound to come home soon." Mai reassured her.

"Okay... thanks! Whoops, gotta run... I need to finish cleaning my room. Okay, I'll tell Joey you called. Bye!" Serenity said and put the phone back.

* * *

_2 hours later... Wheeler Residence_

Joey Wheeler trudged up to the front door of his house. He inserted a key and opened the door quietly. He was so exhausted, and he wanted to collapse on the couch. But his sister, to his surprise, was pacing the living room floor so anxiously that he felt like something was wrong.

"Serenity!" he said.

"JOEY! There you are! Finally... I was really getting worried you know..." Serenity breathed slowly. The creases on her forehead disappeared and were replaced by a look of relief.

"Did you think I wasn't going to come home?" Joey said in a tired voice, flopping onto the couch.

"Yeah! As in..." She heaved a sigh of relief. Joey hated making his sister worry. He knew that Serenity can really get sensitive at times. She also had the sense to sermon him about getting home late.

"By the way, Mai called." Serenity said casually. She straightened out her long brown hair.

Joey's eyebrows shot up. "Really? What did she say?" he found himself asking eagerly.

"She wanted you to call her back."

"Really? Ok, Serenity, thanks!" Joey said quickly. Serenity clamped a smile on her face as she walked away from the room to leave her brother alone.

Joey quickly picked up the receiver, dialing Mai's number as fast as he could. His heart was beating so fast... KRING... KRING... two rings... come on... pick up! Joey screamed in his head.

At last...

"Hello?"

"MAI!" Joey nearly shouted, surprised even to hear his own voice. He never knew he'd react like that to a girl's voice. 'Joey, calm down, what do you think you're doing? Damn, you don't have to get weird in front of a girl!' he thought.

"Joey! Hi, it's nice to hear your voice." Mai said.

Joey was already red, and he felt like he had a giant fever. If a thermometer was put into his mouth, he was sure that it would shoot up to a hundred degrees. Then he started talking with Mai as if there was no tomorrow.

* * *

Serenity, meanwhile, grabbed the Domino phonebook directory and scanned the names under the letter K.

'K... K... Kaiba! There he is!' she thought excitedly as she spotted the name 'Kaiba, Seto.'

She grabbed the wireless phone in her bedroom, and flopping on her bed, she dialed the Kaibas' number. It immediately rang...

'Come on, please tell me he's home...' she thought.

* * *

Haha bad cliffie, sorry you guys! Yay! I finished Chapter 3 at long last! Please review!!! I'd honestly appreciate any comments, questions, or violent reactions... thanks! Tell me also if it's going crappy, corny or good... thanks so much! See ya next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

A/N: Hello! Sorry it was really long until I updated this. I just am not good at thinking up the next chapters, once I upload one chapter. Big writer's block, and I can't get rid of it. Anyways, here's chapter 4.

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

It was a cold morning, and Joey Wheeler felt cold shivers come up his spine. He stretched his arms and yawned. It was too early to be off to school, but once he got up, he couldn't sleep again.

His thoughts loomed to one thing, which was Mai. He had a long talk with her last night, and he felt like she was the only one whom he could talk to nonstop. He found himself thinking about her. No matter what he tried to do, he just couldn't stop. He felt different about Mai-like he was developing some sort of crush on her.

Tucking his hands in the pockets of his shorts, he quickly stepped in the bathroom to take a short shower. When he finished, he was ready for school, but it was still an hour before it started.

He thought that it would be great to be early for once. So he set off eagerly for school. He was in perfect school spirit, and that happened only once in a blue moon.

But as he thought, something else bothered him. Serenity was acting weirdly all night yesterday. After he finished his talk with Mai, she was still hanging eagerly around, saying that she was finishing her homework, but Joey believed that she had finished it and was just waiting for him to stop using the phone.

He didn't mention it, and cheerfully let his sister use it. But she had a nice blush on her cheeks like he'd never seen before, and she was suddenly energetic. Was it possible that she had met someone new and was developing a crush on him? Joey pondered over this. He was usually protective over his sister, especially in situations like this.

And speaking of Serenity, she was coming out of the door, her hands in her pockets. She didn't look as hyper as she was yesterday. And she didn't look remotely happy today. Perhaps it was a bad day for her today.

"Are you okay, Seren? You look…down." Joey commented.

"Um, I'm fine, Joey. I bet you're really eager to get to school, huh? Why this early?" she said, yawning.

"Yeah, just felt like it." Joey smiled and his thoughts slipped back to Mai.

* * *

"Hey Mai! Wait up!" called a voice behind her. Mai spun around and saw Joey Wheeler running towards her. "Hey Joey," she called and smiled. Joey was panting when he reached her.

"Phew. I was pretty early to school and I walked around the whole school and I got these for you." He said, stretching out his arm to give Mai a small bouquet of flowers. They were bright, yellow daffodils, matching her golden locks.

"Wow, Joey, they're beautiful," Mai said. Joey pretended to tie his shoelaces but instead he was spying on Mai's reaction. She was looking at the flowers intently, and she had a sad look on her face for a moment. Joey wondered why. Why should she be sad when she had just received flowers? Any girl would have been happy.

Joey was determined to know why, without asking Mai. _'I need to know what's bothering her…'_ he thought carefully and walked Mai to her classroom.

"So…" Mai said, trying to start a conversation. Joey walked on casually, carrying his backpack. "So, are you still dueling?" she began at last.

"Yeah! I'm getting better than ever. I want to become a really good duelist." Joey said cheerfully. "What about you, are you still dueling?"

A slightly sad look passed her face, and she said, "Yes. But I don't practice as much anymore."

Joey bit his lip. He didn't know how to find out the information he needed, as a concerned friend. After all, if he was a true friend, he needed to know how to cheer up his friends, right?

"Oh." Joey said. "Why don't you duel much anymore? You used to be so competitive and all that." He commented.

"Um… something came up." She said.

'_Something is just not right here,'_ Joey thought. He guessed that he would just have to ask Mai to tell him all about it. "Come on, Mai, what's the matter?" he asked reproachfully.

"I-I'm fine, really," she said but a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Mai, you can trust me." Joey said soothingly, leading her out onto the grounds, away from the attentions of many other students.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," she blurted once they were alone. She had burst into tears. "I can't tell you, Joey, I'm sorry." She said sorrowfully, burying her face in her hands.

Joey reached out and gave her a hug, and his spine tingled. "Sshh… it's ok, Mai… it's ok if you don't want to tell me," he said quietly.

"Hey, Wheeler, don't tell me you two are _going out."_ Said a really ruthless voice, appearing in front of Joey and Mai.

"KAIBA!" Joey yelled, and he felt the extreme desire to pummel the CEO into pieces. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SPYING ON US?!" Joey accused. He was already standing up, confronting the tall Seto Kaiba.

"I was not spying on your romantic moment, mutt." Kaiba said scornfully, giving a sinister smirk. "But I can't believe it myself," he continued, injecting more venom into his voice, "that you and Valentine are _going out. _Only a really bad matchmaker would have made a disgusting match like that. Imagine, Valentine would go out with a sickly mutt?"

Insulting as his words were, Kaiba looked like he didn't regret them at all. He smirked evilly.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, KAIBA!" Joey yelled.

"Stop, Joey… he's not worth all your yelling. Come on," Mai said suddenly and grabbed Joey's arm, dragging him away from Kaiba.

* * *

Meanwhile, Serenity was miserable. She knew it-she had a huge crush on Seto Kaiba. She didn't know how or why it happened, but suddenly she couldn't look him in the eye, and her heart pace was moving faster than ever when she walked past him.

And the worst thing was that she couldn't tell anyone, especially Tea, who was too inquisitive, and wanting to know more about her private life. She was not Serenity's best friend, and was totally exasperated whenever Tea was snooping around her life.

And speaking of Tea, she had just gone over to Serenity and spotted her looking at Kaiba. "No way, girl, he is WAY out of your league." Tea remarked ruefully.

"What, me? Have a crush on him? No way." Serenity lied.

"I don't think so… you were looking at him with some weird look in your eyes." Tea commented. Serenity was more annoyed than ever.

"For one thing, I know he's going out with super beautiful, rich and devastatingly popular Misuko Hoyagi." Tea said, "Plus I don't think he likes the fact that you're Joey's sister," she added after an afterthought.

Serenity suddenly felt dejected but she didn't show it. "What do I care?" she said. Just then, Kaiba passed by, talking to a girl about her age with raven black long hair, acid green eyes with long eyelashes, and a pretty face. A miserable feeling cast through Serenity. She remembered how she tried to call him yesterday evening, and how it didn't work… because he was out that night. **_'But I think that was quite daring…'_** said a voice in her head.

'_I don't care. What's wrong with getting to know him?' _Serenity challenged.

'_**But you are way out of his league. No matter what you do, I think he won't fall for someone like you. He's got a really beautiful girlfriend, and you don't stand a chance, as Joey's sister.'**_

'_You are starting to sound like Tea. She doesn't think there's hope for me either. Why can't you just believe that there's hope? And besides, I think I like him… I just don't know what Joey would say…'_

'_**See? You know that your brother doesn't think that you are a good match. And he's already taken.'**_

'_I don't care. I want to get to know him. I feel like there is some good in him that Joey doesn't see. And I just need to find it.' _Serenity thought determinedly.

'_**You are so stubborn. Never mind, I give up trying to convince you.'**_

And then it was quiet once more in Serenity's mind.

* * *

A/N: So I guess that's it for Chapter IV… stay tuned… and please review. Any comments, suggestions, or violent reactions are welcome. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh.

* * *

"Hey, Mai! Wait up!"

Mai turned around to see where the voice came from. Joey Wheeler ran like he was on the track team towards her. She was happy to see him, but didn't show it. "Hey, Joey." She said casually.

"I was just thinking… if you want to… do you want me to walk you home?" he asked, cheeks aflame and smiling sheepishly at Mai.

A pained look cast across Mai's face. Joey noticed it and asked, "What's wrong, Mai?" He grasped her shoulders with both hands and a look of concern crossed his face. "Don't worry, I'm here. Just tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing, Joey, nothing. I just don't… I just don't think that you should walk me home. I have other things to do after this. I'm really sorry, Joey, but it's really important. I hope you understand."

Joey was disappointed, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he said: "That's okay, Mai… Some other time I guess. I understand…" he said. He felt sorry for her. _'I bet she's going through some rough time right now, because she feels that way… I wonder what she's hiding?' _he thought to himself, and waved goodbye to Mai as he trudged on the streets by himself. Serenity was going home with Tea, and Tea promised to take good care of his sister.

'_I guess I need to get to work. I'll think about this later.' _

But he was really wrong. When he got to the pizza parlor to deliver pizzas, he was still dazed and absent minded as his fellow workers talked to him. He really wasn't aware of what he was doing, putting all his thoughts of Mai ahead of all his other thoughts. It even lasted until he came home.

'_Maybe I should call her up and ask her out or something, just to make her feel better.' _He thought.

He picked up the phone and quickly dialed Mai's number, hoping that she was home. Fortunately for him, she was the one who answered.

"_Hello?"_

"Mai, is that you? This is Joey."

"_Oh, hi Joey. Why did you call?" _

"I was just wondering… if you could come out with me later on, at around 7 P.M.? 'Cause I just want to have your company, and the wind is really breezy tonight, so… if you don't mind…"

He could feel her hesitation. _"Um, sure… I guess that would be fine."_

"Great." Joey said. He was about to hang up the phone until Mai interrupted.

"_Um, Joey, I just want to apologize for refusing earlier."_

"Sure, I understand, Mai. It's okay. So see you later at 7?"

"_Yeah… bye, Joey."_

"Bye." The phone clicked and Joey hung up. _'I did it! I asked her out!' _He was such in a good mood that he couldn't help jumping for joy. And fortunately for him, his good mood lasted all day.

* * *

As for Serenity, she found out that when school started that day that Seto Kaiba was absent. It was not that big a deal for her, but it made her think about him again. She couldn't help thinking what could have made Kaiba absent that day, because according to her classmates, he rarely missed class.

And he was always punctual in arriving, unlike some of their teachers. Serenity may be a new student, but she was quick in adjusting to her school background and necessary information she needed to know.

At break times, she asked Tea all about Seto Kaiba and bored her to death with all the details about the arrogant CEO. And at the end of the day, she was still worrying about what happened to Kaiba, as if she were obsessed about him.

* * *

Joey adjusted the t-shirt and jeans that he was wearing. He didn't want Mai to think that he was a disorganized person. And he wanted to look good in front of her.

He looked at his watch, happy to find out that it was time to meet Mai. He told her where the park was and when he arrived there, the cool breeze whipped his blond hair.

Mai arrived there a few minutes later. She spent a lot of her time worrying about her mother and making sure that she was alright. She would have even missed her date with Joey if her sister had not reminded her.

"It's okay, Mai, I'll look after mom. You go meet Joey. You have to have fun sometimes, you know?" her sister told her, telling her that she was stressing too much. Mai had smiled back and changed to get ready to meet Joey.

"You look beautiful tonight," Joey whispered, unable to resist. He was feeling so happy and pleased to see Mai that his heart flip-flopped while he said it. Mai blushed.

"Thanks, Joey. You look great too."

'_You always do,' _she added to herself mentally as she gazed at Joey. He never ceased to impress her.

The two teenagers walked around while the night was quiet and romantic. Almost no sound was to be heard, except for the metal clang of the swings in the playground.

"It's such a beautiful night…" Mai murmured, gazing at the stars. And she was right. The night was serene and calm, where you could look at the moon and stars, especially on a night when there were no clouds.

Joey looked at her, and was deciding if he should hold her in his arms. It was like there was some invisible force pulling him to the bench nearby.

Mai seemed like she couldn't resist, either. The two teenagers were absorbed in the feelings that they couldn't control… and before they knew it, Joey's face was only an inch from hers.

She closed her eyes, succumbing to the moment. He brought his lips slowly to meet hers, passion injecting from his veins as he kissed Mai. Emotion overcame him like a wave, and before they knew it, the two teenagers lost themselves in the kiss.

* * *

A/N: Yes! Chapter 5's done! Sorry that it's so short… Please review… thanks! 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

'What am I doing? I can't kiss Joey! Not now…' 

The female teenager pulled away from the tall, blond haired boy. The attraction that drew them together was broken, and Mai Valentine was filled with worry.

Tears streamed down her face before Joey Wheeler noticed that she was crying.

"What's wrong, Mai?" He asked worriedly.

"I can't, Joey, I just can't. I'm sorry," she said hurriedly and couldn't meet Joey's eyes.

He grasped her hand lightly. "Don't worry, Mai. I'm here… Don't cry. Tell me, what's wrong?"

Mai ignored his question and pulled her wrist away from him. Without another word, she ran away from him. She couldn't remember how long she had run, or what it felt like. All she remembered was that she had come home with no one to greet her.

On her way to her room, she paused outside her mother's door. It was silent, which meant that her mother was sleeping. Her sister was sleeping in the room beside her mother's. She hoped that they were both all right.

She stayed awake for most of the remainder of the night. It was a good thing that no homework awaited her so that she could think freely. As she tossed and turned in her bed, she kept thinking about Joey Wheeler.

The moments she had relived the most were when she was with him that night—and when he gave her that kiss. Mai knew she had kissed a few boys before, but none of them gave her the same effect as Joey had.

She knew if only she gave it a chance, she and Joey would have a good relationship.

But now, she had matters she had to attend to—her mother was going to attend rehab, and to stop her craving for drugs. It was one of the hardest challenges she and her sister had to face.

She also wondered what Joey had done after she had run away from him. She hoped that he wasn't mad at her. She had to face him tomorrow, after all.

* * *

Joseph Wheeler stared after the disappearing image of Mai. He came to his senses at once and began to run after her, calling her name. But no response came.

Soon he gave up, thinking that she went home. He wondered what he had done wrong. What about him caused her to run away? It didn't make any sense.

Deep in thought and misery, he trudged back to the Wheeler apartment.

That was when he was surprised to find his sister, Serenity, absently flicking through her schoolbooks.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be asleep, Serenity? You need some rest. School can't keep you up like this… okay?" Joey told his sister reproachfully.

"I know, Joey, but I can't sleep." She found herself saying, aware of the concern in her brother's voice. She knew that she was just causing him more problems, so she gave it up. Closing her schoolbooks, she stuffed them in her bag for the next day.

"Guess I'm going to bed, Joey, thanks for being so concerned about me."

"No problem Serenity, you know I'll always be. Sleep well. Love you, sis."

"Love you, Joey." She headed to her bedroom and left Joey to his thoughts.

* * *

He was tossing and turning endlessly on his bed. Why he couldn't get to sleep, he didn't know why. He had the faint inkling that it was because he was so worried about Mai. Maybe he should just call her…

He had never felt this way about a girl before. Especially one he had just met. He saw in his mind's eye that she was special, way more special than anyone he had ever met.

Then why did she pull away from his kiss? Was the kiss too horrible for her? Was he… so bad at kissing? He could not fathom what was going on through Mai's mind at that moment. Maybe Joey was rushing everything, and taking it further than he should have.

That's it—maybe she just wanted the both of them to stay friends. Oh, how that was going to torture him. He couldn't resist that longing for Mai—he felt it the moment that she helped him out of the dumpster—and he definitely couldn't stop his pining now.

He would do it all for Mai. '_If that's what she wants,' _he thought, before finally closing his eyes, _'then that's what she'll get…' _

* * *

Joey wasn't the only Wheeler who had trouble sleeping that night. Serenity was in the same boat as he was, although about an entirely different matter. She was despairing over her own love life—not that Joey knew about it.

The worst thing about it was that she had no chance with him. Absolutely none. The unfair part: She had no chance with him just because she was Joey's sister, and an extremely beautiful woman was in her way to get through to Kaiba. Life was no fair.

She couldn't even admit it to Tea. Heck, she couldn't even admit to her own brother, who was, after all, Kaiba's enemy. That was another thing, though. Would they even begin to understand how she felt? Or would they view it the same way as the families of Romeo and Juliet did?

She and Kaiba were from two different worlds. He was filthy rich, and she was average. He was super smart, a whiz at Duel Monsters, and the enemy of her own brother. Frankly, she didn't stand a chance, and it was getting her desperate.

She needed something to save her from this misery. She needed to find a way to make Kaiba like her—and she knew that she wouldn't be able to do it alone.

She was going to talk to Tea first thing tomorrow morning.

* * *

A/N: The long delay on Chapter 6 has finally finished. Chapter Seven cooking up. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"Well, it's about time you admitted it, Serenity."

"Yeah, I know."

Serenity Wheeler sighed, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, leaning on the wall post near the cafeteria. She and Tea had come here this morning when she told Tea that she was ready to spill the beans.

"I just can't believe it. You, a sweet and innocent girl, would fall for someone as deadly and evilly twisted as Seto Kaiba. It hardly seems like a match made in heaven." Tea commented. She took a bite off her biscuit. "In any case, Serenity, what's your point in telling me this?"

"Well, I think I need your advice on what to do about it. I just can't forget about him overnight, right?" Serenity sighed again.

"I guess you're right. Aside from the fact that if Joey somehow hears of this he will tear out his hair, and from the fact that Kaiba is not exactly the sweetest guy on earth… I'd say you're in a fix." Tea said nonchalantly, as if Serenity's problem wasn't all that huge. "Frankly speaking, crushes like this do fade. And that's what you can hope for in this type of situation. However, if you do like him this much, I'll help you get his attention. How does that sound?"

Serenity thought about what Tea just said, and made a quick reply. "That sounds okay, but… do you think Joey will get mad at me?"

"I daresay he will, but you're following your heart, Serenity. It's our choices that make us. What can Joey do if this is what you want?"

"Um… Joey can disown me as his sister?"

"Serenity! He'd never do that. I know Joey. He's sensitive and has a high ego, but for you, he'd do anything. Trust me, I'll deal with Joey when the time comes. So now can we focus on the plan to make Seto Kaiba fall head over heels in love with you?"

This time Serenity was convinced. "Game."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Serenity and Tea were busy with their scheme, there was another discussion between Tristan and Joey. "Come on, Joey, face it. You're a bad kisser." Tristan concluded, after hearing about Joey's encounter with Mai.

"Shut up! As if you've ever kissed a girl before, huh, Tristan?" Joey argued.

"Well I certainly know more about it than you do!"

"At least I've kissed her! You've never even had a girlfriend!"

"Experience, as you will learn, Joey, is not a matter discussed about kissing. It's about precision, passion, persuasion. Get what I mean?"

"Huh. What the heck!"

"You are so clueless, dude. Face it. Mai ran away from you because you are a terrible kisser!"

Joey opened his mouth to argue, but he ran out of words to say. What if Tristan was right? He could have sworn that Mai was kissing him back that time… but he couldn't deny the possibility of Tristan's conclusion.

"Fine. Don't you think she likes me, then?" Joey said.

"Considering that she practically ran away from you, Joey… I've got doubts about that." Tristan replied. "What about your sister, though? Do you think she likes me?"

Joey responded by kicking Tristan. "No way are you going near her, dude."

"Hey! I was just asking!"

"Still. You're not helping me at all."

"I am!! I'm giving you my honest opinions! Isn't that help enough?"

Joey didn't bother to reply. Tristan shuffled his feet in an annoyed fashion and strutted away. Instead, Yugi came to join his friend.

"Hey, Joey. You look down… Is there a problem?"

With Yugi's calm tone of voice, Joey felt compelled to share to him about his current situation with Mai. He explained what happened the night before, and narrated the events of his first day in the dumpster.

"Oh, no wonder you're feeling down. Don't worry, I'll talk to Mai if that will cheer you up." Yugi offered in a sincere tone.

"Really? You'd do that for me, Yugi? Oh, thanks." Joey said gratefully.

"Sure, no problem, pal. See you later." Yugi said, leaving Joey alone to mind his thoughts.

* * *

"Is there something you want to say, Yugi?"

"Actually, yeah, there is. It's about Joey." Yugi told Mai firmly, and upon hearing Joey's name, Mai sat down on the bench.

"What's wrong with Joey?" Mai asked.

"Well… he thinks that you might not like him after what he did, and he's been obsessing about the whole situation until now. He even argued with Tristan about it." Yugi said, choosing his words carefully. "It's just that, I think Joey might have a crush on you, Mai. I saw the glimmer in his eyes when he spoke about you. I just hope that by talking to you about this, you might straighten things out with him." Yugi exhaled, waiting for Mai's response.

Mai didn't respond for a full minute, and Yugi waited, thinking that she was organizing her thoughts about the whole dilemma.

"All right, Yugi. I'll talk to him. You're a good friend, Yugi, for sticking up for Joey like that." Mai commented, finally standing up. She patted him on the shoulder and went her way.

* * *

There was a loud, deafening crash as they were dropped on the floor, practically useless and immobilized. Everyone's head turned to witness the little accident and were surprised to figure out who caused all the racket.

"Hey, it's the new girl. Are you okay?" asked Ken Shimamura, turning to Serenity. She nodded, embarrassed, and Ken turned back to his work.

"Wheeler! What was that about?" her teacher came up before her this time. Serenity knew better, and began picking up her books. "Kaiba, help her pick up her books."

"Excuse me, but who are you to order me around." Seto Kaiba said in his arrogant, egotistic voice. It brought a rich melody to Serenity's ears.

"I'm still your sensei, Kaiba! Now do what I tell you!" the teacher said sternly, and Kaiba shot a final glare before bending over to help Serenity.

"You're gonna pay for this, Wheeler," he muttered in a low voice. Serenity couldn't disguise the gulp she made. She knew that when Kaiba threatened people, he threatened them well. She couldn't help but feel a little scared, but she had to stick to the plan.

"Thanks, Kaiba." She murmured once he roughly shoved the books into her arms, returning once more to his seat.

"Good. Now I hope I won't expect any more interruptions, Ms. Wheeler?" the teacher said, and turned once again to the blackboard, finishing the equation he was writing.

Serenity turned to Tea, who gave her a thumbs up sign and went back to work. Serenity couldn't help feeling a little uneasy as she bent over her work once more.

* * *

"Now, how was that for a shock? I think it's going well, Serenity." Tea said after class, bundling up her books and storing them in her locker.

"Yeah, I guess so." Serenity shrugged. She was preoccupied with playing the scene over and over in her mind, including Kaiba's threat. She knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Oh, look, it's Misuko." Tea said, as she watched the pretty dark haired girl make her way towards her rich boyfriend. Kaiba was nonchalantly carrying his briefcase, as his girlfriend locked him in a tight embrace. Serenity cringed with jealousy, wishing she was Misuko.

"Tea, I can't stand this scene any longer." Serenity said, starting to lead Tea away from the public display of affection. She made the wrong move, but realized it too late.

She was brushing past Kaiba in attempt to get away from the hallway. Before consciousness hit her, she was on the ground.

There were murmurings all around, at the impact when she hit the floor. She didn't even realize the pain. She looked up at Kaiba to see his reaction, but he was satisfied, with a ghastly sneer on his face.

"I told you you'd pay for it, Wheeler." He said cruelly, and strode away with Misuko, who didn't bother to know what happened.

"Serenity!! Are you okay?" two voices said in unison, gathering above her. It was Tea, and Ken Shimamura who bent down to lift her from the floor. She took their hands, still in shock at what happened.

"What happened, anyway?" Serenity asked Tea, brushing dirt off her skirt.

"Kaiba tripped you. You shouldn't have attempted to pass right beside him, Serenity. I should have warned you." Tea answered.

"Are you okay?" Ken asked in pure concern.

"Yes, I'm fine." Serenity replied. Though she wasn't, still mortified by the scene that just occurred. Kaiba intentionally embarrassed her by tripping her in the hallway. She couldn't push the thought off her mind.

Tea, as if reading her blank stare, began to drag her away from the madness in the hallway, away from Ken Shimamura, to the cafeteria.

* * *

A/N: End of Chapter 7… to be continued. Find out in Chapter 8 how Mai will confront Joey, and what happens to Serenity next. Stay tuned! 


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